Some automotive vehicle use a rubber bushing installed in a suspension arm of a wheel mounting. Typically, such bushings are carried in the rear-trailing arm suspension systems of Honda and Acura vehicles. The bushing cushions the axle of these vehicles and creates a comfortable ride. As time goes by the rubber bushing wears at friction points, such as control arm pivots, due to the “play” associated with broad tolerances. Moreover, the rubber deteriorates from road contaminants; perishes in the cold, and splits in the heat, impairing the automobile's handling and safety. Consequently, the rubber bushing in the wheel mounting arm periodically needs to be removed and replaced by a new bushing.
For Honda and Acura vehicles, the factory removal and replacement manual stipulates 1.8 hours to remove and replace one rear-trailing arm bushing in the Honda Civic, CRX, CRV, Del Sol, and Acura Integra models. These models have a bushing that is pressed in place at the front side of the rear-trailing arm. Excess noise coming from the rear-trailing arm indicates removal and replacement is required. The factory method of bushing removal and replacement is very involved and time consuming, it requires detaching the brake lines, emergency brake cables, the brake caliper, and the rear-trailing arm assembly from the vehicle, along with the use of a hydraulic press.
The factory recommends first to remove the brake lines, emergency brake cables, and brake caliper from the rear-trailing arm assembly so the assembly can be detached from the underbody of the vehicle, taking care not to drop the detached assembly in the process. The detached assembly is positioned on the hydraulic press with a receiver cup and a press cup positioned on opposed sides of the bushing and aligned with the hydraulic press piston. The hydraulic press is then activated to force the hydraulic press' piston onto the press cup, which forces the bushing from its cavity in the assembly and into the receiver cup, removing the bushing from the assembly. Then a new bushing is forced into the cavity. The assembly is positioned on the receiver cup, which is sitting on the hydraulic press' anvil. The new bushing is aligned with the cavity and the pressing cup is located over the top end of the bushing. With the pressing cup, new bushing, rear-trailing arm assembly, and receiver cup aligned and over the hydraulic press' anvil, the hydraulic press is actuated to advance the press' piston to bear against the pressing cup which presses the new bushing into the cavity in the trailing arm.